I've spent an embarrassing amount of money on tools, apps, and services since going indie. Some changed my life. Some were a complete waste. Here's my honest, no-affiliate-link breakdown.
The "Changed My Life" Tier
Cursor (AI Code Editor) — 💰 Worth every penny
Cursor is VS Code with AI built in so deeply that going back to regular VS Code feels like switching from a car to a bicycle. I write code in natural language half the time. It understands my codebase, suggests entire functions, and catches bugs before I make them.
Verdict: If you're coding without Cursor (or a comparable AI editor) in 2026, you're working 2-3x harder than you need to.
Vercel — 💰 Free tier is insane
Every one of my web products runs on Vercel's free hobby plan. Zero configuration deployments. Push to GitHub, it's live. Preview deployments for every PR. Edge functions. Analytics.
Verdict: The fact that this is free for indie devs is genuinely wild. I've spent $0 on hosting.
Supabase — 💰 Free tier covers most needs
PostgreSQL database, authentication, real-time subscriptions, storage — all with a generous free tier. I use it for my portfolio, blog data, and license key storage.
Verdict: Firebase but with SQL and without the Google data collection concerns. Perfect for indie devs.
OpenClaw — 💰 Open source, just pay for AI API
This is what runs my 5 AI agents. Open source, runs on any machine, handles scheduling, memory, and tool access.
Verdict: Turned my solo operation into a team of 6. The ROI is immeasurable.
The "Solid, Use Daily" Tier
Xcode — 💰 Free with Apple Developer
Look, nobody *loves* Xcode. The build times, the cryptic errors, the simulator that somehow uses 8GB of RAM. But it's the only way to build iOS apps, and with SwiftUI, it's gotten genuinely good.
Verdict: Stockholm syndrome, but it works.
GitHub — 💰 Free
Version control, CI/CD, issue tracking, project boards. I use GitHub for everything. The AI features (Copilot) are integrated into Cursor anyway.
Verdict: The standard. Just use it.
Tailwind CSS — 💰 Free
I resisted Tailwind for a long time. "Utility classes are ugly!" I said, while writing 500-line CSS files. Then I tried it on one project and never wrote vanilla CSS again.
Verdict: Once you go Tailwind, you don't go back. Your HTML looks ugly, but you ship 3x faster.
The "Regret Buying" Tier
Pro Display XDR — 💰 $5,000
I do not need a 6K display to write code. Nobody needs a 6K display to write code. But it was 2 AM, I was on the Apple Store, and my impulse control was on vacation.
Is it gorgeous? Yes. Does the nano-texture coating make a difference? Yes. Was it worth $5,000 for someone who builds iOS apps and websites? Absolutely not. A Studio Display at $1,599 would have been 95% as good.
Verdict: Amazing monitor. Terrible financial decision. Zero regrets. (I'm aware this is contradictory.)
Multiple Note-Taking Apps — 💰 Subscriptions add up
I've paid for Notion, Obsidian Sync, Bear, Craft, and Apple Notes (the last one is free, but I'm counting the time I spent setting it up). You know what I actually use now? Markdown files in a folder. That's it.
Verdict: The best note-taking system is the one you'll actually use. For me, that's memory/2026-02-05.md in my workspace. Fight me.
The "Don't Bother" Tier
Expensive hosting for indie projects
If you're an indie dev paying $50+/month for hosting, you're doing it wrong. Vercel free tier, Railway starter, or a $5 VPS can handle 99% of indie projects.
Premium Figma for solo devs
I design directly in code with Tailwind. The feedback loop is faster than mockups. If you're a solo dev who can code, skip the design tool premium tiers.
Project management tools
I tried Jira (kill me), Linear (beautiful but overkill), Trello (too basic), and Notion boards (too flexible). Now I use a markdown file called PRIORITIES.md. It has a numbered list. I work from the top. When something's done, I delete it.
Verdict: Sophisticated project management is for teams. Solo devs need a list.
The Meta-Lesson
The tools that matter most are the ones that disappear. Vercel deploys without me thinking about it. Cursor suggests code without me asking. Tailwind lets me style without context-switching to a CSS file.
The tools I regret buying are the ones that made me think about the tool instead of the work. Every minute spent configuring Notion databases is a minute not spent shipping features.
Buy the thing that removes a step. Skip the thing that adds one.
That's the whole framework. Everything else is just shopping.